Insulated railway-joint



(No Model.)

' P. CLARK. INSULATED RAILWAY JOINT.

No. 599,766. Patented m: NORRIS PETIRS m, murp-p'ma. WASHINGTON. n c.

g UNITED STATES PATENT IQFFICE;

PETER CLARK, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

INSULATED RAILWAY-JOINT,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 599,766, dated March 1, 1898. Application filed May 21, 1897. erial No. 637,584. (No model.)

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful'Improvement in Insulated Railway-Joints, of which the following is a specification.v

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in insulated railway-joints for electric railways and'the like, and has forvits object to providea simple and effective arrangement by whichvthe ends of a section of railway may be insulated, so as to prevent the passage of an electric current from one section'to another.

A further object of my invention is to simplify the construction of the chair, whereby its efficiency will be increased and the liability of spreading of the rails overcome 5c and a further object of my invention is to provide a cross-block between the two ties upon which the endsof the rails rest, the lower surface of which shall lie in the same horizontal plane as the lower surfaces of said ties, thereby providing a more rigid support for the ends of the rails, while at the same time better adapting this portion of my invention for' tamping up to overcome sagging and to relevel the rails when occasion may require.

With these ends in view this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and 'upon one side thereof; and Fig. 3, a section at the line 100 m of Fig. 2.

In carrying out my invention as here embodied I connect the two ties A and B by a block,O, which is halved into said ties, as clearly shown at D in Fig. 2 in full lines and upon the opposite end in dotted lines, and this manner of connecting the block permits said block to be of as thick material as the ties themselves, thus bringing both the upper by the overturned section I, through which the spikes J are adapted to pass by the formation of proper holes in said section. stay-plate of each of the chairs is placed upon the outside of the track in order that the rails cannot spread even though one of the fastenings of the stay-plate should become displaced, and the chair is completed by the right-angle plate K, which is spiked in place by the passage of the spikes L in securing the plate E in position.

Suitable blocks M and N are fitted against the rail and within the chair, so as to hold said rail in place, for which purpose the bolts 0 are passed through said blocks andrail.

When my improvements are in use to secure the rails in place, an insulating plug or washer P is interposed between the ends of the rails to prevent the passage of the electric current from one rail to the other, and as the chairs do not come in contact with each other,

but rest upon the wooden block, it is obvious that the escape of thecurrent cannot take place.

One of the principal advantages of my improvement is that in ballasting a track the broken stone or other material maybe tamped beneath the connecting-blocks, as well as the ties, thereby affording said blocks a perfect support, thus preventing sagging,which might otherwise take place; and a further advantage of these blocks is that the crawling of the track sidewise is prevented by the ballast intervening between said blocks and upon the outsides thereof, since these blocks will then form anchors for the track.

Another of the principal advantages of my improvement is thatv the rails of the track cannot spread, even though the inside spikes L be displaced or even the plate K beremoved, as the stay H and plate G are formed .The

too

in one piece, and so long as this plate is held in place it is obvious that the rails cannot be forced outward, and in practice I prefer that this plate be let into the surface of the tie, so that even though all of the spikes were to become loosened, the plate would not crawl. This arrangement is clearly illustrated in Fig. 3.

I desire to lay special stress upon the fact that the connecting-blocks are of equal thickness with the ties and are halved therein, thereby rendering this block as rigid and capable of supporting as great a strain as the ties themselves, since this will prevent the rise and fall of the ends of the rails, which in turn will prevent the hammering off of the ends thereof, as well as provide a smoother track for the travel of the cars.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is- 1. An insulated railway-joint, consisting of two ties connected together by blocks of equal thickness halved into said ties, so that the upper and lower surfaces thereof will be flush with the upper and lower surfaces of said ties, two chairs placed thereon, each of which has formed therewith a stay-plate, and means for securing the chairs and rails in place, as specified.

2. The herein-described combination of two ties, blocks of equal thickness therewith halved therein, two chairs located upon each block and let therein, said chairs having stayplates formed therewith,and plates K adapted to be spiked to the chairs, as specified.

3. In combination with ties and blocks of the character described, chairs adapted to be let into said ties and blocks, each of said chairs consisting of a base-plate, a stay-plate, and a plate K adapted to be spiked to the chair when the latter is secured in place, as specified.

4. A railway-chair, consisting of a baseplate, a stay-plate formed therewith so bent as to provide a spiked section, and a plate K adapted to be spiked to the chair when the latter is secured in place, as specified.

5. In an insulated railway-joint, two chairs located on either side of the junction of the rails,stay-plates formed with the chairs,plates adapted to be spiked to the chairs, and insulating-blocks placed between the plates and the rails, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PETER CLARK. Witnesses:

F. MATTNER, ALLISON W. MCCURDY. 

